


My Hope, My Home

by GalacticDefender4679



Category: Far Cry 5, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre: Cult Violence, Other, POV First Person, Rebellion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 23:24:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19305979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticDefender4679/pseuds/GalacticDefender4679
Summary: "Welcome to Hope County, Montana. Used to be mah home-land 'fore that fucker Seed showed up with his friends. Now I'll light up the whole goddamn county as long as it means I free mah home. But I'm gettin' 'head of mahself. Name's Jaqueline Smith, but most folks either call me Jackie or Applejack." Story told from AJ's POV, headaches and etc. included.





	1. The Collapse

It was a long flight over to Hope County, so I figured I might as well go over my video briefing again. Well, not so much a briefing as a little collage of clips someone in town put on YouTube somehow. Either way, it’s a good video. That’s what I was thinkin’ as I pulled out my phone and started watching. I knew everybody in it as someone from home. We were friends, before everythin’ went to shit.

( _Mary May Fairgrave:_ “Montana… Big Sky Country… The Treasure State… People got a lotta names for it. I just… call it home.”) _Same old Mary._

( _Jerome Jeffries:_ “Lived here my whole life. Still amazed at how beautiful it is.”) _Heh. I can sympathize, pastor._

( _Nick Rye:_ “Maybe that’s what blinded us to how ugly the people were getting’.”) _Ha! Doubt Aroura would appreciate that, Nick. But you’re right._

Then it cut to some idiot who tried smugglin’ a camera into one of this asshole’s “church meetings”.

( _“Prophet”:_ “…and everything became perfectly still…” [ _Grunt:_ “Good day to you, brother.”])

( _Jerome:_ “You don’t understand; no one took these groups seriously.”) It almost hurt me physically at how true that was.

( _Nick:_ “They were different. Religious. Militant- I-It was a goddamn cult.”)

( _“Prophet”:_ “The Collapse is upon us, my children.”)

( _Mary:_ “They started buyin’ up every farm for miles. Then the radio station. Not long after that, they even had the fuckin’ cops.”)

( _Jerome:_ “…their own sovereign religious state. Built right here, under our noses.”) _And we still didn’t catch on ‘till it was too late._

( _Nick:_ Ain’t no one comin’ to help us. Government can’t do shit. We’re on our own.”) _Not for long, buddy._

( _“Prophet:”_ “God demands we save those souls whether they want to be saved or not.”)

( _Mary:_ “People don’t want to believe groups like this exist.”)

( _Nick:_ “People are scared, man.”)

( _“Prophet”:_ “…and some will wish to harm us… Some will wish to destroy all that we have built here together. And some will betray us.”) _He’s lookin’ at you, asshole._

Then a couple of grunts grabbed him and pulled him to the front, dropping his phone, but still letting it record this so-called prophet. I knew who this guy was.

( _Jerome:_ “We don’t know what he’s capable of… Who? Their leader.”)

( _Nick:_ “Joseph Seed.”) _And a bad seed he is._

( _Mary:_ “They call him… ‘The Father’.”) If you didn’t know the context, or let’s be honest, even if you did, you’d think that was the name of a D-list Batman villain. And you might as well be right.

( _Seed:_ “And those in the outside world are blind. They do not believe. They have no faith. Shhh. But I will make them see.”)

Then he shoved his thumbs into the idiot’s eyes, piercing them and blinding him. I might not have liked the victim all that much in school, but no one deserves something like that. Then outta nowhere, my phone cut out.

“What?” I asked. “Oh come on.”

“Hey, rookie. Rookie,” said the sheriff, getting my attention. “You’re wasting your time, there’s no signal out here.”

“Sorry, sheriff,” I said. Old man knew how to work. Name was Earl Whitehorse; dirty blonde with a mustache and green eyes like dying leaves. Lookin’ across from him, I just looked at US Marshal Cameron Burke; black guy, blue eyes, very by the books, as was evidenced by the fact that he hadn’t let that damn warrant go once this whole flight.

Me? Well, the name’s Jaqueline Smith, but most folks in town usually call me Jackie. My friends though? They call me Applejack, AJ for short. Pro’ly cause my folks ran an apple orchard not far outside the county. Now I’m your sorta garden-variety Montana farmgirl; straw-blonde, emerald green eyes, got a nice tan, basically always wear a Stetson, and I have a lotta muscle on my bones.

Now as for my story, my parents went missing not long after my little sister Apple Bloom was born twelve years ago. No one’s seen 'em since, but my pa Bright Mac was a deputy, one of the best in the county. My older brother Big Mac was in law enforcement too; joined the sheriff’s department when he was just 18 and excelled; locked up a lotta crooks ‘fore he retired back to the farm. I always admired him for that, and I joined ‘round the same age, leavin’ my Granny and Apple Bloom to watch the farm.

Course, I was nowhere near as good as Mac or Pa; only got to Junior Deputy rank, but hey, long as I could help, I was one happy camper. I was on vacation when I got the call, and when I found out Seed was tearin’ round my old stompin’ grounds kidnappin’ and killin’ whoever he pleased, I knew right then and there that if I couldn’t arrest him, I’d just kill him.

“Crossing over the Henbane now,” said the pilot. We all looked out and saw Seed had defiled the whole landscape by buildin’ a giant statue of himself, overlookin’ everything.

“Oh fuck, there he is,” said the co-pilot.

“Crazy motherfucker,” said the pilot.

“Dibs on blowin’ that fucker up,” I said angrily.

“We’re officially in Peggie country,” said the co-pilot.

“How much longer?” asked Burke.

“Eh, just long enough for you to change your mind so we can turn this bird around,” said Whitehorse.

“You want me to ignore a federal warrant, sheriff?” asked Burke.

“No, sir,” I said, trying to cut in. “I think Earl just wants you to understand the gravity of this situation.”

“Indeed I do,” said Earl. “Joseph Seed; he’s not a man to be fucked with. We’ve had run-ins with him before and they haven’t always gone our way. Just sometimes… sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone.”

“Yeah well… We have laws for a reason, sheriff,” said Burke. “And Joseph Seed is gonna learn that.”

“Yer funeral,” I said, crossin’ my legs. “I’ll bury ya near a tree in the graveyard.”

“Pratt, open a call with Dispatch,” said Earl.

“10-4,” said the pilot. Soon enough, good ole Nancy was on the horn.

“Whitehorse to Dispatch, over,” said Earl.

“ _Go ahead, Earl,_ ” said Nancy.

“We’re approaching the compound, Nancy. Over,” said the sheriff.

“ _Roger, sheriff,_ ” said Nancy. “ _Ya still plannin’ to go through with this? Over._ ”

“We are – unfortunately – still trying to talk some sense into our friend, the marshal. Over,” said Earl.

“ _Alright… He’s lucky I’m not there,_ ” said Nancy. Ha! Ya gotta love this gal. Right about to have friends possibly die a gruesome death, and she can make jokes. “ _You get into any trouble, you just let me know. Over._ ”

“10-4, over and out,” said Earl as the call was broken.

“Maybe we shoulda brought Nancy along with us instead of the Probie. These Peggies wouldn’t fuck with her,” said Pratt.

“Wow. Thanks, Pratt,” I said sarcastically. Goddamn man, didn’t even try to softball that.

“Why do you keep callin’ ‘em Peggies?” asked Burke.

“‘Project at Eden’s Gate’. P-E-G; Peggies, it’s what the locals call ‘em.” explained Earl. “Y’know, they started off harmless enough a few years back, but now they are armed to the teeth. They’re lookin’ for a fight.”

“Are you scared, sheriff?” asked Burke.

“Aren’t you?” I asked him.

“We’re here,” said Pratt. “Compound’s just below.” Callin’ this place a ‘compound’ would be an understatement; it was a goddamn fortress built 'round the old Church of Eden’s Gate.

“This is a bad idea,” said the co-pilot.

“Last chance, marshal,” said Earl.

Burke let out a long breathy sigh before he came to his conclusion. “We’re goin’ in.”

“Okay then,” I said, checkin’ my gun just in case.

“Set her down,” said Earl. “Pratt.”

“Roger that,” said Pratt as he brought the bird in for a landing.

“Dispatch, you still there?” asked Earl.

“ _Yes, go ahead sheriff,_ ” said Nancy.

“You don’t hear from us in fifteen minutes, send in everyone,” said Earl. “Call the goddamn National Guard if you have to. Over.”

“ _Yessir, sheriff,_ ” said Nancy. “ _I’ll be prayin’ for you._ ” With that, we all took off our headsets and got ready.

“Now listen up,” said Earl. “Three rules; Stick close, keep your guns in your holsters and let me do the talkin’. Got it?”

“Got it,” said Burke.

“Jackie?” he asked.

“Understood, sheriff,” I said.

“Alright everyone, stay sharp,” said Earl. “Let’s go.” And with that, we all just jumped out of the chopper and went straight towards hell. There were grunts around every corner, all heavily armed. Gotta admit I was concerned, but even moreso about my family. Burke was just about to burst into the church guns blazing, but I stopped him.

“Hand off that service weapon, sir,” I said. “We do this, we do it Earl’s way; quick, quiet and above all, calm, that clear?”

“Fine,” said Burke.

“Hudson, on the door,” Earl addressed the co-pilot with the shotgun. “Watch our backs. Don’t let any of these people get in. Jackie, on me.”

“Yes sir,” I said, adjustin’ my hat.

“And you…” he addressed Burke. “Just try not to do anything stupid.”

“Relax sheriff,” said Burke. “You’re about to get your name in the paper.”

“As what? The man who saved Hope County or the one who doomed the U.S of A?” I remember myself thinkin’ that just before we opened up the gates of hell. Once we entered, we saw old Seed right at the head of this old church. We started walkin’, he started spewin’ more of his religious shit.

“Because we know what happens next,” he said. “They will come. They will try to take from us; take our guns, take our freedom… take our faith. But we will not let them.”

“Sheriff, c’mon--” said Burke.

“Just hold on, Marshal,” said Earl.

“We will not let their greed, or their immorality, or their depravity hurt us anymore!” said Seed. “There will be no more suffering.”

“Oh, fuck this,” said Burke, pulling up the warrant. “Joseph Seed! I have a warrant issued for your arrest in the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm. Now I want you to step forward and keep your hands where I can see ‘em.” Amazingly, the whack-job actually complied. Or… at least I thought he was complying.

“There they are,” he said, still spouting. “The locusts in our garden… You see, they’ve come for me. They’ve come to take me away from you. They’ve come to destroy all that we built.”

“Joey, just shut the hell up and do what the man says,” I found myself sayin’ exasperated. His grunts just started gettin’ antsy, as was Burke cause he nearly pulled out his gun until Seed stopped them.

“We knew this moment would come,” he said. “We have prepared for it. Go. Go…” His grunts just passed me by, all of ‘em givin’ me sideways glances. “God will not let them take me.” But he just kept spouting his stuff as he offered his hands.

“Rookie, cuff this son of a bitch,” ordered Burke.

“Yessirree,” I said and moved forward to do just that.

“God will not let you take me,” he said. I just cuffed him.

“Well, God ain’t here, is he?” I asked, lookin’ him right in the eye.

“Sometimes the best thing to do… is to walk away,” said Seed as we led him out.

“Yeah well, I guess I can agree with you on that,” I said. “Cause this county’s gone to shit since you’ve been here, so I’d say it’s high time you walk away yourself.” People started going crazy as we walked Seed out to the copter.

“You can’t do this!” yelled someone.

“This is for your own good, folks,” I yelled. “This guy ain’t no prophet, he’s a fuckin’ psycho!” Finally, we made it to the chopper. I sat Seed down across from me, but his people just started climbin’ on the copter. Felt like something out of one of those horror games my cousin in New York plays.

“Get the fuck off my ride!” I yelled as I kicked one of them in the face. But then one of them did the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen; they literally jumped into the chopper’s propeller, breakin’ the engine with their own body. “Goin’ down!”

“Brace for impact!” yelled Earl. And we just wrecked, only thing I could hear was Seed singing “Amazing Grace”. Good song, really, except when a psycho like this sings it. Then it started to come into better focus, and I could hear Nancy over the radio. I looked around and saw the whole goddamn chopper was upside-down. Everyone else was out cold, our guns were gone and Seed wasn’t in his seat, but I could still hear him singing, so he couldn’t be far. I tried to grab the headset and call Nancy for backup, but I was stopped by… well, three guesses, first two don’t count. Yep, you guessed it; Seed grabbed my arm and stopped me from callin’ the cavalry.

“I told you that God wouldn’t let you take me,” he said. Then he grabbed the headset. “Dispatch. Everything is just fine here. No need to call anyone.”

“ _Yes, Father,_ ” said Nancy, shocking me. “ _Praise be to you._ ” That traitorous cunt. If I get outta this, she’s next on my list. Right after you, Seed.

“No one is coming to save you,” he whispered to me. I just spit in his face, and he left in the company of his followers. He spouted more bullshit as the rest of us woke up and we all tried to escape, but then I heard Seed say something that honestly terrified me.

“Begin the reaping!” he yelled. Quick as we could, we all busted out, but it turned out Nancy wasn’t the only traitor as Pratt started kickin Earl’s ass.

“Jesus Christ, we gotta get the fuck outta here!” said Burke.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I said as we tried to break the seatbelts, but then the fuel-leak from the copter caught fire.

“Don’t do this to me,” I thought. “Don’t you fuckin’ dare do this to me.” Finally, I made it out, a bit after Burke, but I was still alive at least. I just crawled out of the copter and ran for my life through the forest, enemy fire ringing out around me. Finally, I came to rest outside an old cabin not far from the crash site. There was a guard nearby, so I just grabbed the nearest shovel and knocked him out. I grabbed his pistol and just hid in the cabin. I figured if I hid out here long enough, I might be able to wait them out. Sorry to say, it didn’t work out like that as no sooner had Ah got myself situated then my radio turned on.

“ _Hello…? Anyone hearing me? Hello? It’s Burke… Hello?_ ” he asked.

“Burke,” I said into my radio. “Burke, it's Jackie, you read me?” Guess my radio’s transmitter was dead because he didn’t address me back by name.

“I think I lost them… I see a… a trailer nearby,” he continued. “It’s next to a long bridge… I’m gonna try and get inside… if anyone’s still out there… Listen, if anyone’s still alive…” Then my radio cut out. I knew the place he was talkin’ about, so I ran over as fast as I could over to it. I walked in expecting a fight, but not to get pinned to the wall by the neck by my own ally.

“Whoa-whoa, friendly! Lemme go!” I choked out.

“Jesus Christ… Smith, I’m sorry…” said Burke as he let me go. “I thought they got you.”

“Hey, no harm no foul, man,” I choked out. “You good?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Cmon… Cmon.” We ran a full sweep of the place to make sure it was clear, and finally found out where we were; the home of the Seed family.

“Fuck!” said Burke, throwing a family picture onto the table. “We’re puttin’ this whole family away. All of ‘em. Fuckin’ lunatics!”

“Forget puttin’ em away,” I said. “Let’s just save us all some trouble and put ‘em down.”

“We’re gonna get outta this, Smith,” said Burke, grabbing a gun from a shelf nearby. “First things first; gotta arm ourselves. Here.”

“Thanks,” I said, accepting the assault rifle he handed me. Not a bad piece really, looked accurate enough, had plenty of ammo. “What’s the play?”

“Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do,” he said, grabbing a pistol. “There’s a road out there. We’re gonna take it, we’re gonna head northeast. It’s probably only a few hours back to Missoula. And then we’re gonna come back here with the goddamn National Guard, and we’re gonna take out the rest of these-”

“Sh!” I said, shuttin’ him up. “Listen.”

“Came around this way!” said a cultist outside. “Check inside the trailers!”

“Shit,” said Burke. Then I looked out the window on the side.

“Truck,” I said. “We get to that, we get outta here. You get it runnin, I’ll cover you.”

“Alright,” said Burke, cocking his pistol. “Let’s do this.” I just kicked the door off its hinges and started lightin’ the assholes up. Burke grabbed the keys and ran for the truck, trying to get it running, but it wouldn’t start.

“Aw cmon, cmon, cmon!” he yelled. I just ran up and whacked the engine with the butt of my rifle and it started. Once it started, I started laughing like a psycho.

“Yes! Haha! Suck on that, you sons of bitches!” I yelled and jumped in. “Drive!” And that’s exactly what he did; punched it all the way to the bridge through every goddamn barricade these assholes set up. I lit up any assholes that even tried to get in our way, but once we got to the bridge, their goddamn plane dropped a bomb right in front of us. Blasted the truck clean into the river. We had to swim out, and even then, the Peggies caught Burke and I was just too tired to think of anything. I could hear him being captured but my attention turned to some dark figure looking at me with a double-barrel in my face.

“Pa? That you?” I asked. Course it wasn’t, I was just loopy, but he must’ve figured I was one of the good ones cause he helped me up. The rest of that night, well… just bits and pieces… I don’t remember seeing the face of the guy who saved me till later, but I can tell you one thing; this war with the Peggies? We lit the fire, and it just went outta control.


	2. Isle of Dutch

When I woke up, I had what might as well be the worst headache of my life, and I was listening to Seed stirrin’ up a manhunt for me on the radio… And I saw that I was handcuffed to a bed with zip-ties.

“Ugh. Are you shittin’ me?” I said under my breath as I tried to pry myself loose. Then I saw the guy who pulled me outta the river over on the side of the room listening to the wacko’s ravings. Then he turned off the radio and turned to me.

“You know what that shit means?” he asked.

“I think I got a pretty good idea,” I said.

“It means the roads have all been closed,” he said walking over to me and lettin’ me get a good look at him. Seemed like the sorta old guy you might find out in the sticks; bald, little white beard, brown eyes. “It means the phone lines have been cut. It means there’s no signals getting in or out or this valley. But mostly it means we’re all fucked.”

“Yep,” I said. “That was my idea.”

The guy let out a weary sigh. “Goddamn ‘Collapse’… they all think the world’s comin’ to an end now,” he said. “They’ve been waitin’ for it. For years. Waitin’ for somebody to- to come along and fulfill their prophecy and kick off their goddamn Holy War. Well, you sure as shit kicked.”

“Well, what can I say? My legs are one of the first things boys look at when they see me,” I joked. Course, I wasn’t wrong; boys all over the county have been lookin’ me over since I hit puberty, and if my picture ain’t evidence enough of that, then I don’t know what is.

 

Anyway, back to the point, this guy was kinda startin’ to wig me out.

“Smartest thing for me to do would just be to hand you over,” he said.

“Yeah, but you’re not gonna, are ya?” I asked. The guy just backed up and pulled out a huge knife. Okay, this here is the part where I don’t mind sayin’ I felt like pissin’ myself. But then he just cut me loose and let me fall over. “Thanks. Now what?”

“Get outta that uniform, we need to burn it,” he said.

“Uh okay, but you realize that’ll leave me naked right?” I asked him.

“There’re some fresh clothes in the locker over there,” he pointed. “When you get changed, you come and see me. We’ll see if we can't un-fuck this situation."

“I wouldn’t hold my breath, but alright,” I said and he left. I got up and figured he was right about one thing; this uniform had to go. I didn’t know how scientific-minded these Peggies were, but if they found my uniform and got even a sliver of my DNA from it, I’d be dead in the water.

See, I wasn’t always the most lawful gal in Hope County. Time was I was a county-wide petty crook. My buddy Becky “Sunset” Shimmer thought it would be a good idea to show me how it felt bein’ on the wrong side of the law, and I got pulled in a couple times; few weeks in juvenile hall but that’s it. Course, Mac pulled a few strings when the time came I wanted to join the force, but my County Juvie record still stands. They get my DNA from there, it’ll put my family in danger… if Seed hasn’t got them already. Not to mention it kinda reeked of sweat, river water, and adrenaline, so if I didn’t get it off soon, I’d kick myself.

So yeah, obviously I dump my uniform and my soaked underwear, set for the pyre, and dive into the locker here. Thankfully, this guy knew the requirements of a woman, as he had some woman’s underthings. Sporty stuff, thankfully. If he had any of the more private stuff, I’d be concerned. Anyway, I get that on, give a quick check to make sure he’s not in some corner watchin’ me dress and got back to it. Just threw on an old white t-shirt under an orange flannel shirt (which I clipped my now surprisingly repaired radio onto), pulled on some jeans and a red neckerchief and some old leather cowboy boots, all of which somehow fit me perfectly. Found my Stetson wrung out for me and put it back on along with some old brown leather work-gloves. Then I walked back out to the guy to find him talkin’ into a radio.

“Good,” he said. “You found something that fits.”

“Yeah, not bad stuff, really,” I said.

“I didn’t properly introduce myself back there,” he said, extending a hand. “Most folks call me Dutch.”

“Jackie Smith,” I said, grabbing his forearm. “Friends call me Applejack. So what’s with all this ‘Beautiful Mind’ stuff here?”

“I've been trying to piece together what’s happenin’ up top… it ain’t good,” he said.

“And this particular ‘not good’, did it start _before_ Burke tried arrestin’ Seed or after?” I asked.

“Eh, little column a, little column b,” said Dutch honestly. “Little I can gather is that he and the rest of your squadron are alive… for now.”

“Wait seriously? Where?” I asked.

“Seems they’ve been split up… each one handed off to a different member of Joseph’s ‘Family’,” said Dutch. “You want ‘em back, I get it – I get it, I got friends that been taken too. Problem is, there ain’t no help comin’. Nobody knows what’s goin’ on here and they won’t know until it’s too late. There’s gotta be people willin’ to fight back against this cult, we just… We need to show them how. We need to build us a resistance.”

“Sounds like somethin’ from one of those old war fiction books a friend of mine used to read,” I commented.

“So the first thing we’re gonna do is get control of this island,” said Dutch. “Once we get some breathing room, we can figure out what’s comin’ next.”

“Sounds easy enough,” I said, crackin’ my knuckles, ready for a fight. “Got any supplies?”

“There’s a gun and a map in the safe over there,” he said. “Take ‘em. I’ll give you a call on your radio once you get your bearings.”

“Thanks,” I said and opened up the safe. Had a nice detailed map of what was what, and who in Seed’s family controlled where. Also had a good stash of ammo and… oh. Oh-ho-ho! Dutch, my man, you have made my day. A .44 Magnum? I love revolvers.

“Be careful out there – it’s crawlin’ with Peggies,” warned Dutch. “Those fuckers are willing to die for that psychopath that leads ‘em.”

“Thanks fir the warnin’,” I said as I climbed up out of his little underground bunker. I’m sure he wanted to wish me luck, but he must’ve known I wouldn’t need it. A gun like this? I could stop a car with one shot outta this smokewagon, let alone a cultist. Lookin’ around I find myself thinkin’ that it’s people like the Peggies that don’t understand the little things in life; beauty of nature and all that, even though I was in a pretty huge fog-bank and couldn’t see that much around me.

“ _Now listen up,_ ” Dutch said over my radio, just as he said he would. “ _If you’re gonna build a resistance, there’s some things you need to know._ ”

“Shoot,” I replied into it.

“ _There’s four ways you can go about this;_ ” explained Dutch. “ _First; you can liberate any hostages the cult has taken. These are good people who might just fight alongside you if ya help ‘em._ ”

“And with any luck, they’ll be my old friends,” I said. “Alright, next?”

“ _Right, second; you can destroy Eden’s Gate property that’s all over the place now,_ ” he continued. “ _Hell, they’ve built two goddamned shrines on this island alone._ ”

“Jesus Christ,” I groaned.

“ _Third; you can tackle resistance missions,_ ” he kept going. “ _There are a lotta folks out there waging their own war against this cult, and they could sure use your help._ ”

“I can handle anything they got for me,” I said. “And last?”

“ _Well, if you’re really lookin’ for a fight – you can take on the cult outposts that have popped up across the county,_ ” he finished. “ _Liberating those places will give the resistance solid footholds to push back against Eden’s Gate. You got all that?_ ”

“10-4,” I said. “Save hostages, blow up property, take missions and take over outposts.”

“ _Good. Now, I got cameras set up all over this island,_ ” said Dutch. “ _I’ll keep an eye out for anything useful. For now, head south and take out any cult shit you see – and help any folks in need, wouldja? Dutch out._ ”

“Ten-four, AJ over and out,” I said and signed off on the radio. After a while, I found a large-looking tank inside a pitiful façade of a church. Figure that’s one of those shrines Dutch mentioned, so I moved up closer. But the fumes from it started messin’ with my head, so I backed right the hell off. Not to mention there were a couple of guards. Much as I love my new smokewagon, it’d let everybody and their mom on this island know where I was, so I just ripped a branch off a tree, clubbed the both of ‘em and looked around their little outpost.

And lo and behold, what do I find but a stick o’ dynamite! Course, I took one of their MGs and all the ammo they had too, but then I just threw the dynamite at the shrine and ran. Couple seconds and it was tick-tick-boom, baby! Shrine was rubble, I had new gear, and I was just itchin’ for a fight. Or maybe that was the fumes from the tank messin’ with my snatch, I’m not sure.

Anyway, I just ran off to the next nearest shrine, but I found it on a smaller island off the main one. I just mark all the Peggies for reference and swim over, not really worried about the lake water on my clothes anymore and get ready to take these assholes out. I just snuck around, snappin’ necks and snaggin’ guns and a grenade, which I then used to blow the shrine. Figured Dutch’d have seen the whole thing and would congratulate me bout it, but he was a real “Business, then pleasure” kinda guy.

“ _Shit,_ ” he said. “ _Kid. I just saw the cult grab a guy down by the docks. You help him out and maybe he’d be willin’ to pick up a gun and return the favor._ ”

“I’ll do what I can,” I said and I certainly did, helpin’ the guy, givin’ him a gun and tellin’ him to report to Dutch. Not long after I did that, I raided a ranger station. After I did that, Dutch told me to clear up the radio signal. Found a map to the antenna, made things a lot easier, discountin’ the metric fuck-ton of Peggies in my way. But finally, I made it to the tower and got her started up. Then Dutch came through on the loudspeakers, soundin’ real urgent.

“ _Hey Jackie!_ ” he said. “ _I’m gettin’ a strong signal now… Let’s get your map out, I’ll walk you through what I’m hearin’._ ”

“Can do, Dutch,” I replied, unfoldin’ the map of the county he gave me.

“ _Now as I’m sure you know, Hope County’s divided into three regions,_ ” said Dutch. “ _To the north, you got the Whitetail Mountains. It’s run by Jacob Seed, oldest brother of that fuckin’ family. Jacob’s ex-military so he’s the one trianin’ the cult – and he’s damn good at it. Old Eli and the Whitetail Militia been tryin’ to hold out, but Jacob’s got his boot over their necks and he’s ready to bring it down._ ”

“Well, that’s a colorful analogy,” I said. “What about the Henbane River?”

“ _That’s Faith’s territory – the little ‘sister’,_ ” said Dutch. “ _I’ve heard all sorts of stories about people losin’ their minds in a place called ‘The Bliss’ out there, so steer clear. Fer now, head west to the Holland Valley. John Seed’s just rolled in there and is takin everything in the name of the cult; food, guns, supplies… and worst of all, people._ ”

“And these guys call themselves holy,” I growled. “Any word from the outside yet?”

“ _Naw, but I'm pickin’ up plenty more calls all over the county,_ ” said Dutch. “ _I’ll keep you posted on anything that’ll be useful._ ”

“Much obliged, Dutch,” I said.

“By the way, fog should be clearin’ soon, which means we can get you off this island,” said Dutch. “Sit tight. Shouldn’t be much longer.” And he was right; within the next few minutes, the fog cleared, revealing the whole island. Once it did, Dutch came through, worried.

“ _Oh shit,_ ” he said. “ _Jackie, I’m pickin’ up on somethin’ new comin’ outta Holland Valley. It’s a broadcast from John… You might wanna see this._ ”

“10-4, patch it through to my phone,” I said and he did, revealing the man’s ugly mug. Turned out it was just a cult propaganda video, but it let me know just how far these assholes were willin’ to go. Not only that, but I saw that he had Hudson. I didn’t like her much, but I had to save her. “Dutch? Get me a job in Holland Valley, A-sap. I want the satisfaction of watchin’ the life leave old Johnny’s eyes.”

“ _You got it, kid,_ ” said Dutch as I ziplined down from the tower. “ _I’m hearin’ reports outta Fall’s End down there that they need help. Might wanna go offer ‘em your services._ ”

“On my way,” I said, runnin’ southwest fast as I could. “Over and out.” Most of my old friends lived in Fall’s End, and if they died, I’d never live with myself. Plus, they’d probably haunt me to an early grave anyway so, y’know, not lettin’ that happen.


	3. Battle of Fall's End

It was a long hike from Dutch’s island out to Fall’s End, especially with Peggies all over the bridge, making it so that I had to swim around ‘em. Once I was on the shore though, I took out a couple, saved a few folks and got loaded down enough for a small army. But I figured I still had a long way to go, so I managed to steal one of the cult’s ATVs near a silo and made my way down the road.

Drew quite a bit of attention, but that didn’t matter to me. First thing I needed to do was save my friends and family. Finally, I managed to reach the outskirts of town when Dutch came back in over the coms.

“ _Hey kid, be careful as you get near Fall’s End – Cult has control of the whole town,_ ” he said. “ _You need to rescue Mary and Jerome, and then kick those Peggies right in the balls. Dutch out._ ”

“Ten-four, Jackie out,” I said, and parked my quad in the stream near the road. Figured I could get in closer easier if I weren’t burnin’ rubber. Then I heard some weak barking near a tree closer to town. And it sounded familiar.

“Winona?” I called out, thinking it was my border collie. “Winona, that you girl?” And thank my lucky stars, it was; Same brown and white fur, brown eyes and red collar with brass tags I remembered from when I was a youngen. Course, she didn’t look too great; almost like she got tied up in a big ol’ fight. Still, since she did, and managed to get away I can only imagine she managed to protect my kin when the Peggies came knockin’. Winona never did quite trust Joseph, even _if_ his family was one of the oldest in town. Anyway, I patched her up and decided to bring her with me.

Though that was probably a mistake, cause when I looked at town, it looked like a full-blown warzone; buildings burning down, rubble all over the place, looked like hell itself had just passed through. Went sneakin’ through town lookin’ for the folk I was there for, but then I saw a Peggie at the end of one street.

“Hey girl, wanna play fetch?” I asked Winona, who just barked in agreement. “Go take that guy down and bring me his gun.” Winona barked in agreement and ran down to him, took him down in a few seconds and carried his rifle back over to me. Unfortunately, the mook managed to get a few shots off which drew some serious attention, so I just had her hide in an empty house nearby while I dealt with the Peggies that were closin’ in. But just as I climbed up to a roof and shot one of them, a pick-up with a mounted turret rolled in and started lightin’ up all the others, blaring country rock out the stereo.

“YEE-HAW!” yelled the girl on the turret. I knew that yellin’ anywhere and as I looked off the edge, I knew I was right; It was good old crazy Pinkamina Diane Pie (or Pinkie to her friends), same pink hair and clothes I remember and that same manic look in her blue eyes. Mary Fairgrave’s her cousin, so it’s obvious why she came.

“Whoo! Come get some, ya assholes!” yelled the driver as she got out with a couple of Uzis. I remembered her too; Cassie ‘Dash’ Weathers, dyed rainbow-hair shaved in a spot to show her natural blue, light blue clothes and that same loyal passion burning in her magenta eyes. Figured I might as well join in the fun so I jumped down to their truck to reintroduce myself.

“Howdy girls!” I yelled as I pulled mah rifle and let the lead rain down on these Peggie sumbitches.

“AJ!” yelled Pinkie happily as she just hugged me. “It’s been ages, where’ve you been?”

“Let her explain later, we’ve got work to do,” said Dash. Then I heard a familiar whirring and saw a huge plane comin’ barrellin’ down on us.

“Air support incoming!” I yelled and we all cleared off the truck as the plane blew it to hell. “Man, that guy’s a pro!”

“Should be, that pilot’s a Chosen,” said Dash. “One of Seed’s best. We don’t take him down, we’re dead.”

“Ooh! This is the perfect chance!” said Pinkie. “Hey AJ, I’ve been wanting to introduce you to a new friend of mine since this craziness started.”

“New friend?” I asked, understandably confused. “Ain’t no one here ‘cept us.”

“Wrong-o!” said Pinkie, pullin’ a goddamn RPG off her back. “AJ, meet Ronaldo! Ronaldo, meet the Chosen’s plane!” One rocket later, and that plane came crashin’ down the street. That little display of firepower alone and the Peggies were spooked into runnin’, tails between their legs. Folk went to work fixin’ the place up right quick, and soon nuff, we had our own little home-base right in the middle of this madness.

That night, Pinkie was treatin’ us all to drinks at the Spread Eagle (Don’t worry, that’s just the name of the Fall’s End waterin’ hole), and I could never say no to sumthin’ like that. Once I went in, I found Pastor Jeffries in the back, readin’ the real Testament.

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes’,” he read. “‘There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. ‘For I know the plans that I have made for you,’ declared the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope… and a future’.’” I figured he was trailin’ off ‘cause he saw me.

“Howdy Reverend,” I said, tippin’ my Stetson to him.

“Jackie Smith, you crazy girl,” he chuckled as we grabbed hands in respect. “I don’t claim to know God’s plans, but I know a good thing when I see it. You’re earning quite the reputation.”

“Hope it’s not like my rep from high school,” I said, ‘membering my rebel years.

“Depends on what side of the line in the sand you’re on,” said Dash. “Either way AJ, you coming back is the first good thing to happen to Holland Valley in a long time.”

“A little help?” asked Mary. Saw her comin’ out of the back room with a tower of boxes.

“What’re you trying to do, break your neck?” asked Pinkie as she walked over.

“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” said Mary. Jeffries and Pinkie grabbed a couple of boxes off the top and let her see. “Thanks.” Then she saw me. “Is that Jackie?”

“Howdy Mary,” I said.

“Ho-holy shit, I ain’t seen you since Soarin’s crazy party out in the Whitetails,” she said.

“Man, that was a crazy night,” I said, rememberin’ when I hooked up with my sweetheart Caramel Chancer. Then it came to me. “Wait, where’d you get all the booze?”

“Yeah, I thought that Eden’s Gate confiscated all this,” said Jeffries, pullin’ a beer outta one of the boxes.

“The hell kinda Fairgrave would I be if I didn’t have a hidden stash?” asked Mary, and she ain’t wrong: Fairgraves have got stashes of stuff like this all over the county; booze, cash, guns, all that good stuff.

“Well, you learned from the best,” said Pinkie, picking up a picture of Mary and her pa from one of the boxes. Mary just chuckled and walked out back with the picture.

“This town… it’s been through a lot Jackie,” said Jeffries. “We owe you thanks but-”

“I know you’re lookin’ for your people and the other girls in your little gang,” said Mary, slappin’ a round of mugs on the bar for Jeffries to fill. “But the truth is you ain’t the only one in need of help. Pastor, these two and I can only do so much…”

“Well, we ain’t gonna need to worry about that much longer,” I said, grabbin’ up a mug. “I’m organizin’ for a revolution in this here county.”

“Well you know we’re in,” said Dash as they all grabbed drinks too. “You help us out ‘round town with some odd jobs, we’ll pay you back. Whaddaya say?”

“Well folks, I’d say yall got yerself a deal,” I said. “Cheers.”

“Cheers!” the others said and we drank it down.

“Mary’ll getcha squared away. When you get the chance, come by the church,” said Jeffries. “I’ll be there.”

“You got it, pastor,” I said, salutin’ him as he walked on out. “Man, is it me or is it weird to see him in Kevlar?”

“That’s what _I_ said,” said Dash. “So how’re we doing this resistance?”

“Well first off, we gotta get the other girls,” I said. “Once we’ve got the extra hands, we can get to recruitin’ other folk. Once that’s done, we’re goin’ to war.”

“Alright then. Let’s do this,” said Pinkie as we all shared a beer.


	4. Widowmaker

“Gotta say Jackie, you got some balls rollin’ into town the way you did,” Mary grilled me as I just pet Winona. “Most folk take one look at Eden’s Gate and turn the other way. The ones that don’t get taught a hard lesson.”

“Well, I think we all know that I ain’t most folk,” I shrugged. “Plus, I ain’t in much of a learnin’ mood.”

“Yeah, neither was Uncle Gary.” Pinkie smirked. “One of the first to stand up.”

Mary smiled as she remembered it. “Anytime the Peggies showed up lookin’ for trouble, Dad would hop in his big-rig and chase ‘em outta town. He loved that truck.”

“Yeah, called it ‘the Widowmaker’, right?” asked Dash.

“And those fuckers stole it a week before he passed.” I was honestly kinda surprised to hear that sorta talk from Pinkie. I mean it’s understood, but she was always one to want folk to be happy as much as they could. Then she started chuckling. “Shit, here’s an idea; you really wanna inspire a revolution and piss off the cult? Get the Widowmaker back. Show Seed we’re not just gonna roll over… and give the folks in the valley something to cheer about.”

“Sounds good to me,” I smirked, standin’ right up. “Where is it?”

“Locked up under guard at a grain elevator east of town,” said Mary. “But I think you’re just the girl for the job.”

“You got it. Let’s do this, Pinkie.” Sure, she was surprised. But she didn’t seem in the mood to argue with gettin’ her uncle’s truck back. So we hopped a car and punched it down the road toward the elevator.

Course, we drew a little attention and had to hide the car and leg it the rest of the way. And it was a _long_ rest of the way. Course, we did manage to set free an outpost and get another foothold in the war, and get myself threatened by a message from John, but either way, it was just past daybreak by the time we made it. Once we did, I recognized it; one of the main users for the farms in the valley, and it was overrun with Peggies.

Once we made it, I saw that “armed guard” was an understatement; place looked like a military compound. Took some major stealth skills to get inside (and even more maneuverability to avoid the bee-hives in the tower where we found a major stash), but once we were in the garage, I could barely hold it in and I started givin’ an awed laugh.

The Widowmaker was a majestic beast if I ever saw one; epic bald eagle on the back, hot-rod flames just behind the grill, American flag in the cab and what looked like .50-cal guns on the fenders. “Please tell me where the keys to this beast are.”

“Right here.” Pinkie smirked as she tossed ‘em to me from the office nearby. “You wanna drive?”

“Abso-fuckin-lutely.” That was really a no-brainer. We just jumped into the cab and I revved up the engine… and “Barracuda” started blarin’ out the radio. “Wait-wait-wait, cmon we can do better than that. Pinkie, you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin?”

“Always, good buddy.” Pinkie just smirked as she pulled exactly what I wanted her to outta her boobs; the soundtrack for “Smokey and the Bandit”. Yeah, you know where this is goin’. The door opened up and I just punched it out into the yard and back to Fall’s End fast as I could, whoopin’ and hollerin’ for all I were worth with “Eastbound and Down” blarin’ out the stereo.

**Yeah, this is my own addition for shits and giggles, but… cmon man! Watch a playthrough of this mission and tell me, to my face, that you don’t wish you could bulldoze the cult with the Widowmaker while playing Eastbound and Down over the truck radio instead of Barracuda. I dare ya.**

“ _Someone made off with the Widowmaker!_ ” a Peggie said over the radio. “ _Block the roads leadin’ back to Fall’s End, don’t let it through!_ ”

“He-he-yeah. Good luck with that, buddy.” Pinkie smiled. And sure nuff; first blockade we found, that crazy truck plowed through ‘em like nothin’.

“YEE-HAW!!!” I hollered. I was seriously resistin’ the urge to take my shirt off and wave it out the window like a flag before Mary came through on the radio.

“ _Holy shit, you did it! You took back the Widowmaker!_ ”

“Dang right we did, cousin! And we’re rammin’ the cult right off the road all the way home!” Pinkie yelled into it.

“ _Hey, don’t be shy Jackie. My daddy put cannons on that thing and I’d love fer you ta use ‘em,_ ” said Mary.

“Oh, I’m usin’ em alright! Whooooo!!!” I just pulled the trigger and let the lead fly as we charged back toward town.

“ _Now hit those sons 'a bitches. Better yet, honk that horn every time ya do… so I know when to cheer._ ” smirked Mary.

“10-4, good buddy.” Then I tuned the radio to the Peggies’ frequency just to taunt ‘em with my best Jerry Reed impression. “Best move over a little bit, good budday, ‘cause the Snowman is comin’ through.” Then I just tuned back to Mary’s channel and looked at Pinkie. “Hold onta ya ass, Pie.” Course, these Peggie idjits didn’t know how to move in time cause I just roared through their next blockade, honkin’ and whoopin’ like a nut along with old Mary and Pinkie.

“The way you’re handlin’ this bad boy would make Uncle Gary really proud, AJ. Now, how about we bring her home?” asked Pinkie.

“You got it.” Then I got on the CB. “Breaker-1, Breaker-1, this is the Widowmaker! Is the Spread Eagle out there? Am I hittin’ ya darlin’?”

“ _Mercy sakes, mercy sakes, you put about 8-and-a-half on me, blowin’ the windows down. Bring it on!_ ” Hah! Mary never did miss a chance for a reference like that.

“We’re 10-8 to ya darlin, you make sure the home-fires are burnin’ and the beer’s flowin’ when we make it. Come back.”

“ _For sure, for sure. See ya when we see ya._ ” Pinkie and I smirked and laughed at that little chat, but then she noticed something ahead.

“Whoa. Whoa. Reaper. Reaper!” I wasn’t sure what she meant until I saw a big-ass U-Haul with the Cult’s symbol on it ahead of us. Then it hit me; Joseph called for something called “The Reaping” once my copter went down, and I could only assume that truck was full of people the cult had kidnapped, so I swerved. Problem was I caught the driver’s attention cause they started tailin’ us.

Then… “ _Breaker-Breaker to the Widowmaker. Need some help with this Reaper here, girls! Cmon back._ ” I could swear that voice sounded familiar, but I wanted to make sure.

“10-4, good buddy. What’s yer handle?”

“ _Name’s Phoenix Knievel, now how bout some help?_ ” Then it clicked; old Sunset always wore a pendant of a bald eagle she painted gold and red, said it was a phoenix. And she always rode a motorcycle, so I just smirked.

“Oh is that so? You sure it ain’t Sunny Bird?” Sunset always hated that nickname, but she also knew I was the only one who knew it.

“ _Holy sh- Applejack, is that you?_ ”

“Comin’ on back to ya, Phoenix. I suggest you get your head down cause I’m puttin’ the _hammer_ down!” And I did just that; spun that rig right around and pulled up right next to the Reaper. Then I just put two in the driver’s head and called it. Then there she was; good ol’ Becky “Sunset” Shimmer, hair like good Canadian bacon (Dammit now I’m hungry), bright blue eyes and leather jacket I always remembered. Plus a new helmet; flamin’ bird-head on the side.

“Howdy there Sunny,” I smirked.

“AJ, you old nut! When did you get to the county?” she asked as she pulled me into a hug.

“Two nights ago. That cop-chopper that went down outside Seed’s compound? That was mine.”

“Damn. Kinda stunned you made it outta that,” she said as she pulled out a can of gold spray-paint and started sprayin’ a phoenix over the cult-symbol on the truck.

“Well, I always was a tough little tiger. You should know that better than anyone else in the valley. Remember that night we snuck into Nick’s?”

Sunset just chuckled as she put away her can. “You're never gonna let that one go, are you?”

“Don’t plan to. Pinkie, you take the reaper. I’m takin’ Widowmaker all the way. Sunset, you ridin’ with us?”

“Hell yeah I am. Got some familiar faces in this bad boy, plus enough supplies to keep Fall’s End from fallin’ again anytime soon.”

“Great. Let’s rock n’ roll.” I was just about to get back in the truck when something hit me. “By the way, where’d you stick a CB on that bike o’ yers?”

“Right here,” she smirked as she slapped her helmet on. “So does that rig move?”

“Whee-doggie, do she.” I smiled as I jumped in and dropped the hammer and led that convoy straight-on back to Fall’s End where everyone was waitin’ and cheerin’ as we pulled the truck up next to the bar. Once I was there, I jumped out and laughed as I jumped into a hug from Mary.

“Didn’t scratch it too much, didja?” she asked.

“Ah cmon Mary, you know I suck at drivin’.” We laughed at that, but then Mary just stared happily at that old rig of hers.

“I gotta say AJ; seein’ my dad’s truck rumblin’ home sure brings back memories,” she smiled. “Pinkie and I would stand out here every time he came back – just like this, wavin’ him home.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help with that Mary,” I smirked. “By the way, I’m probably gonna need to borrow her a couple more times if we wanna end this. You don’t mind, do ya?”

“Well, you definitely got the grit to handle her. And more importantly, you got the heart.” Then she smirked. “Dad always _did_ like you.”

“Yes ma’am he did.”

“If you ever need to use the Widowmaker, you don’t even gotta ask.” Score! New truck. “In the meantime, I’ll keep my ear to the ground. If I hear anything that’s worth your while, I’ll let ya know. Thanks again, Jackie.”

“Hey, thank _you_ Mary. I owe you big.”

“Hell yes ya do!” She smirked walkin’ back into her bar.

Then Dutch came in on the radio. “ _You’re doin’ a hell of a job, AJ,_ ” he said. “ _But Eden’s Gate isn’t just gonna sit around with their thumbs up their butts. We push, they push back harder. John’s gonna send out birds to try to spot you from the air, and armed convoys to intercept ya on the road. Keep your head on a swivel._ ”

“10-4, Dutch. AJ out.” After that, I just walked up to the Reaper we stole and saw Sunset with a piece of rebar in-hand, ready for the lock.

“Care to do the honors?”

“My pleasure, honey.” Took the bar from her and jammed it in the lock, cracked it open. “Alright, let’s see who we got in here.” Once I cracked the doors, wasn’t I surprised? Two more girls from the old high-school gang; Aurora Belle (aka Rarity) [curly purple hair, blue eyes, talked all fancy-like with an English accent, you know the type] and Tina Sparks (aka Twilight Sparkle) [recluse really; purple hair with a couple stripes, purple eyes under thick glasses, great with tech], both still alive and well. “Hot damn. Hey gals, you alright?”

Twilight just smiled at me. “Hey there cowgirl.” She was awful weak, climbin’ outta the truck like she climbs outta bed before 5. “Been a long time.”

“Been a might busy. And _we’re_ about to get even busier, cause we’re takin’ the fight to them.”

“Well I figured you would,” Rare wasn’t too much better, slippin’ right into Pinkie’s arms. “So it might interest you to know that I heard John’s started a manhunt after you.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Figure our first order of business is to get air superiority.”

“Well, you’re probably gonna want Rainbow’s cousin for that,” Sunset smirked.

“Nick? You mean he got guns on that plane of his?”

“Yeah, that’s the good news,” said Rainbow as she jogged over. “Bad news is Fluttershy’s there and she just called it in. The airfield’s under attack.”

“Aw man, we better haul ass then,” I said and ran to the Widowmaker. “Twi, Rare, you go inside and get yerselves a drink. We can talk strategy for this whole ‘revolution’ thang when we get back.”

“Sounds good to me.” Twilight and Rarity just walked over to the bar while Pinkie and I jumped into the truck and Sunset drove off ahead with Rainbow on her bike. One more of my friends to save and our revolution is rollin’. And once that happens, Ol’ Joseph better watch his ass. Cause we’ll have a rifle up it in two shakes.


End file.
